Consumer motoring publication What Car? has announced the new BMW 5 Series as its Car of the Year for 2017.

The 5 Series fended off stiff competition from Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce to win the Luxury Car of the Year Award and was then announced as the overall winner as the best new car of the past 12 months.

Other newcomers also made a big impression on the judges, particularly in the SUV sector where the new Seat Ateca took the Small SUV of the Year prize and the Skoda Kodiaq won Large SUV of the Year.

Championing manufacturers who have made progress in safety and technology, What Car? and Thatcham Research presented the Safety Award to the Toyota Prius, while the Peugeot 3008 was awarded the Technology prize, sponsored by Nexcel, for its i-Cockpit interior layout.

The Honda Civic Type R was named the most exciting car due to be launched in 2017 in the Reader Award category.